Selcouth Youth
by nazlanmak
Summary: New Airbenders weren't the only thing the Harmonic Convergence brought about. In fact, those are now the least of their worries. 16 years later, when they thought all their troubles were finally resolved, Hiro shows up. And when he finds out that he isn't the only one of his kind, there's no stopping him from going on the search for them. SYOC [open]


I stood there, watching her deep green cloak billow behind her as she slipped right through my fingers. I couldn't believe it. It was impossible. Only three words raced through my mind.

_I wasn't alone._

I guess I should start off by introducing myself. My name is Hiro Chen, and I live in the _wonderful_ city of Zaofu, metal bender central. Too bad I'm not one. Just a plain ol' Earthbender, well … not exactly.

That day started like any other - an officer chasing me, telling me to go back to school; and me outrunning him, telling him to fuck off. You know, the usual.

I cut around the corner and weave in and out of fruit carts and vegetable sellers, pushing past the sea of people. I've lost him already, which kind of takes away the fun. So I leaned on one of the stands and chatted it up with the owner.

I plucked up a moon peach and promptly took a bite. "Hey," I greeted, "How's it go - ". Yeah, remember that bite I took, it came rolling right out of my mouth. I stared at her, and it was pretty hard to do anything else.

_Damn_, I thought, _am I seriously blushing right now?! Get it together. _

She couldn't have been that far from my age, but the creases around her eyes (which were staring daggers at me by the way) suggest otherwise, or that she that pissed off look all the time. I'd bet on the latter. She had her pale arms crossed firmly over her chest.

"Well," she said in a let's-cut-to-the-chase type tone, "are you buying it, or not?"

It took me a moment to register that. And it went a little like "Huh? wha - ohh". This won me an eye roll. I fished around my pockets for my wallet, but before I could hand it to her (or ask for her name), I spotted the officer chasing me close it.

I took off, and Fruit Stand Girl yelled in protest. "Come back here!" She attempted to freeze my foot in place with a puddle, but a little sneaky firebending melted it right off. I made sure no one saw of course.

Oh, did I forget to tell you that? I was born an Earthbender, but around the time I turned six, I learned I could Firebend too. Freaky, right? I'm not sure _what_ I am, or why I'm like this. It's all a bit confusing. It isn't like I can just walk up to the White Lotus and say _"hey, I think you have more than one Avatar this cycle"_. I could be prosecuted or experimented on or who knows what. My best bet in order to survive is to have no one know.

Getting back to my story, Fruit Stand Girl then joined in on the chase, adding to the excitement. Most of the time, all I got were cranky old guards. This would be exciting.

I jumped over a fence, sending a wave or rock her way as I landed - but just big enough to trip her. Wouldn't want to scratch that pretty little face. I was surprised she was still tailing me at this point. I mean, it was just one little moon peach. It was either she was totally in to me, or was really serious about this fruit stand thing.

"I never got your name by the way," I called over my shoulder jokingly.

"Well, I never got my payment," she answered back fiercely.

I turned a corner and got the slightest glance of her, but even that one second, stopped me dead in my tracks. This time, it isn't because she's beautiful. There were small flames licking her fingertips.

She ran right into me, not being able to stop in time. I towered over her, the top of her head just level with my shoulders. Without really understanding what I was doing, I placed a hand on her cheek and bent over, placing my lips on hers. Another snaked around her waist, pulling her closer to me.

I never thought this would happen.

For so long, I thought I would have to carry this burden around with me. For so long, I thought I was a freak. For so long, I thought _I was the only one_.

But I'm not anymore.

She pulled back and slipped out of my grip. Her face was flush and her piercing blue eyes filled with horror, and anger, and confusion. She shook her head muttering, "What is the matter with you?". Then, she took a look at her fingertips and gasped, putting them out with some waterbending. Without another word or anything, she started running. I wasn't sure if she was so much as running from me, or running from herself, but I let her. I let her slip away, because I couldn't stop thinking,

_I wasn't alone._

* * *

_A/N:_

Yay! So that's basically the intro to my first ever story, Selcouth Youth. What do you think?  
This will be a SYOC, and the form is on my profile. So submit away :)  
Also, I'm in need of a co-author for this, so if anyone is interested, feel free to hit me up


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